A bill making it illegal to leave children unattended in a car and introduced by East Lansing State Rep. Mark Meadows is on its way to the desk of Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm. The bill, HB 4872, will make it a misdemeanor to leave a child under six years old unattended in a car, and create a felony in the event a child is injured or dies.
Meadows said in a press release the new law was necessary because law enforcement had no effective tools in dealing with unattended children. Meadows said the unattended child had to be injured in order for law enforcement to step in, and then only with a neglect charge.
“Far too many individuals leave their children unattended in vehicles each year, assuming that nothing bad can happen,” Meadows said. “In no time at all, unattended kids can suffer from heat stroke, be abducted by strangers or set the vehicle in motion, which puts the safety of even more people at risk. This law will go a long way to improving the safety of children in Michigan.”